Angulowl

Owlworks Edition Showcases New Grammatical Standard

Readers of the Owlworks edition of Adam Smith's Of the Revenue of the Sovereign (1776) can see firsthand the application of a proposed standard of usage for our restrictive relative pronouns that and which.  The prescription is tendered to writers and speakers of both American and British English.

This reprint of Book Five of Smith's classic Wealth of Nations has been doctored throughout by D.N. DeLuna, who introduces a novel way of making the choice between that and which when it comes to restrictive relative pronouns.  Recall, non-restrictive relative pronouns typically figure in adjectival clauses that are surrounded by commas.  And in such framed modifying clauses, the rule is that the pronoun which is to be used.  With regard to correct choice with restrictive relative pronouns, American and British rules differ.

The grammatical principle behind DeLuna's proposal has to do with the proximity of the restrictive relative pronoun to the substantive to which it refers back.  The rule of thumb is, choose that over which only when this pronoun immediately follows its antecedent.  Otherwise choose which, even when there is but the interposition of a preposition or punctuation mark between the two.

The Owlworks edition of Smith's Revenue of the Sovereign teems with these pronouns set   off in bold, the change in typeface indicating DeLuna's emendations.  When the new rule      of thumb is not observed, readers can come to grasp the logic of the deviant choice.  For example, the choice of which is employed when there is more than one antecedent; while that or which may be employed in alternating sequence on aesthetic grounds, for the sake   of euphony.

The proposed new standard of usage has been modelled after the 'rule of immediate prox- imity' which governs usage of the French relative pronoun dont.  But the rule, in its borrowed form, is not as 'hard' as its French counterpart.  And DeLuna would note that it is not the simplicity of the new usage which recommends it.  Rather, it is the benefit we gain of enhanced clarity of expression.